It's Never Too Late
"It's Never Too Late" is the sixth episode of . It originally aired on September 10, 1992. It depicts the climax of a long, gang war between rival Gotham City bosses Arnold Stromwell and Rupert Thorne. Sensing an opportunity to resolve it peaceably, Batman attempts to convince Stromwell to retire. Plot Act One In his estate, Arnold Stromwell, Gotham's reigning crime boss, is watching the evening news. The lead item is the worsening conflict between himself and upcoming boss Rupert Thorne. That much he knows, but he is shocked to hear on the news that his son, Joey, has been missing for days. He and his son were estranged, but Stromwell is convinced that Thorne is behind this. He orders his men to set up a meeting with Thorne. Batman, disguised as a hobo is eavesdropping on Thorne when he receives Stromwell's message, and plots to assassinate Stromwell. just manages to leap away from an oncoming train.]] On the way to the meeting, Stromwell passes an old rail yard, and has a flashback: two young boys, Arnie and Michael, are arguing on their way home. Arnie has stolen a handful of candy and is offering half to Michael, but Michael refuses to take any. Arnie swears that one day he will "own" Gotham. But as they walk home, a train roars up the tracks at the boys. Michael dives out of the way, but Arnie's shoe is stuck. Arnie manages to free himself and jump onto the neighbouring track in time, but is immediately faced with another approaching train and freezes in fear...... Shaking off the memory, Stromwell enters a deli controlled by Thorne for the meeting. Elsewhere, Batman approaches an elderly priest and asks for his help. With a sigh, the priest says that Arnold Stromwell is "one soul I wish I could give up on." Thorne acts affable, but Stromwell seizes him and demands to know where his son is. Seeming genuinely surprised, Thorne swears he had nothing to do with Joey's disappearance. Calming down, Stromwell accepts Thorne's invitation to sit - then realizes he has been set up as Thorne and the deli owner run out the back. A bomb inside the deli explodes. is escorted to his sick son by Batman.]] Act Two Stromwell is knocked unconscious, and trapped by the flames, but Batman enters and pulls him free. When Stromwell regains consciousness, Batman confronts him, asking him to give up his criminal ways and turn state's evidence. Stromwell acts defiant, but Batman decides to take him on a "tour" - first to Arnie's old neighborhood, where he started as an ordinary drug peddler, then to Sunrise Foundation, a drug rehabilitation center. Inside, Stromwell is shocked to find his estranged wife, Connie, who is attending to Joey, suffering from severe drug withdrawal pains. Stromwell rages, but is brought up short when Connie said it was one of his own dealers who got Joey addicted, though it was Batman who rescued Joey and alerted Connie. Appearing contrite, Stromwell agrees to hand over files incriminating himself and Thorne to Batman. But at the empty office he leads Batman to, Stromwell slips Batman a stack of dummy files, and uses his distraction to grab a gun, saying he won't go down so easily, and once he's finished with Thorne, he'll "rescue" Joey from the rehab center. Then they are both attacked by Thorne and his gang, who overheard a bum that witnessed Stromwell's escape at Batman's hands. Act Three Batman subdues Thorne's thugs, while Stromwell flees, with Thorne himself in pursuit. As Stromwell runs, he finds himself back at the old rail yard, and remembers the rest of the flashback: Just before the train hits, Arnie manages to get his shoe free, and stumbles out of the way - straight onto the next track as a second train is bearing down on him. Michael pushes Arnie out of the way, and the train roars over him, Arnie screaming "Michael! Michael...!" breaks into tears being reunited with his brother.]] Stromwell collapses, sobbing "Michael... Michael..." A voice answers, "I'm here, Arnie." The old priest steps into the light - Father Michael Stromwell. He wasn't killed, but lost a leg - something for which Arnie never forgave himself. Out of guilt, he angrily says he doesn't need Michael's help, to which Michael responds by reminding him of the current dismal state of his life: his family is broken, his son is gravely ill, his empire is crumbling, and his enemies are closing in. Michael appeals to Arnie, asking him to do the right thing: "For yourself, for your son, for me, your little brother." Arnie hugs his brother, sobbing. Thorne suddenly appears with a gun, ready to kill both Stromwells, but Batman arrives just in time and subdues Thorne. The police arrive on the scene. Thorne is arrested, and Arnie, arm in arm with his brother, prepares to give a statement to the police. Batman, his work done, slips away into the night. Continuity * Stromwell apparently makes good on his promise to retire, since after this episode Thorne is Gotham's reigning crime boss. * Stromwell appears only once more in the series, in "Robin's Reckoning", in flashbacks that take place before the events of this episode. Background Information Home Video Releases * Batman: Out of the Shadows (VHS) * * Batman: The Complete Animated Series (DVD) * Batman: Out of the Shadows (DVD) Production Inconsistencies * In the news report, Commissioner is misspelled "commisioner". * Rupert Thorne's eyebrows are black, but toward the end of this episode there is a closeup of his face and his eyebrows are as white as his hair. Trivia * There is some similarity between this episode and the stories of Charles Dickens' "A Christmas Carol" and the film "It's A Wonderful Life," with Batman acting as an "angel" showing a man familiar places, and jogging memories of his past life in an effort to change his mind. It also seems to draw from Angels With Dirty Faces, about a gangster and a priest who were best friends in childhood found themselves on opposite sides. Cast Uncredited Appearances * Joey Stromwell * Simon * Stash * Freddy Quotes Category:A to Z Category:Batman: The Animated Series episodes